In The Midst Of It All
by Oi Uchi
Summary: In the midst of her grief, she finds herself irresistibly falling for the least expected person. Problem? She’s already in a relationship with Uchiha Sasuke. [[SasuSakuNeji]] Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.
1. The Early Bird Uchiha : Prologue

**Author's notes:**

I'm sorry for starting another story, but I just can't get this idea out of my head. Anyway, I promise I'll update my stories! But it takes quite a little time, so yeah...Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

**IMPORTANT:**

**In this story, they had finally managed to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke from sound. They're all around sixteen or seventeen in age, so there. There are also some sub-pairings such as ShikaIno, NaruHina and LeeTen. So, I hope you don't mind.

* * *

**

**Chapter title:**

The Early Bird Uchiha

**Chapter summary:**

She tried her best, she gave up everything, and she even gave up her own happiness just for him. But through it all, she knew he would never love her back.

* * *

**Story title:**

In The Midst Of It All

**Story summary:**

In the midst of her grief, she finds herself irresistibly falling for the least expected person. Problem? She's already in a relationship with Uchiha Sasuke. SasuSakuNeji

* * *

**Guide:**

Naruto - Narrating

"Naruto"- Talking/ Thinking

_Naruto- _Flashback

* * *

She sat there, waiting patiently for him to arrive. She knew he was coming...well, he should. Sure, he was already more than an hour late. That was quite normal, wasn't it? People are not perfect after all, and there's no doubt about it, some always tend to arrive late at events like this.

She groaned as she stopped reassuring herself, shaking her head as her long pink hair bounced up and down behind her. Who was she kidding? Certainly not herself! He was never late. On the contrary, he was always extra early. That's probably why he's called "The Early Bird Uchiha".

She tapped her candle-like fingers on the table in front of her before she turned to the wall clock of the coffee shop. It read 1:15 in bold numbers, seemingly mocking her endless. She sighed as she continued to tap her fingers on the table.

"Patience is a virtue..." she silently reminded herself as she leaned back in her chair, trying her best to be comfortable. It wouldn't hurt to wait for a few more minutes now, would it?

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening caused her head to snap up, her brilliant emerald eyes sparkling up with hope. But it immediately vanished as she found out that it was only Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru. They walked towards a table a little far from her and then proceeded to ordering. They didn't notice her.

She frowned slightly as she watched the couple bicker about something that she might have guessed as "too troublesome" for the lazy genius. It reminded her that her "date" was still missing.

"False alarm..." she told herself sadly as she leaned back in her chair again, staring out the window hopefully.

* * *

_"Look, Naruto and Hinata always eat together for breakfast and lunch at the Ichiraku!" Sakura said as she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Sasuke hard, trying to get a reaction from him. Her hair flowed behind her back as the wind blew gently._

_Sasuke opened his onyx orbs and stared back at her, emotionless. What was the point of this talk again?_

_"They're going out." He replied nonchalantly, inserting his hands in his pockets again. Sakura raised an eyebrow as her eyes widened in anger._

_"May I remind you, so are we!" she exclaimed. Sasuke stared at her blankly. It was annoying, this talk._

_"And your point is?"_

_"My point is, we have never even gone out for a date, even once! In these two years of our relationship, you didn't even bother to go out to eat with me or even hold my hand while we walk!" Sakura exclaimed hysterically. She rolled her eyes as she turned away from Sasuke, facing the river. _

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke punched the dummy in front of him hard, which fell to the ground like the other dummies surrounding him in the forest. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, before grabbing a few shruikens from his pouch, and then turned to the target behind him.

He threw the shruikens directly at the target, hitting the middle. He then continued throwing the shruikens towards the target. He frowned before stopping his training as he heard a voice not far from him.

"-I swear he always trains somewhere here!"

He raised an eyebrow as his onyx eyes turned to where the voice was coming from. He could recognize that voice anywhere. As if on cue, a blonde emerged from the bushes. His cerulean eyes scanned the area and it landed on the raven-haired boy, who was currently looking annoyed at the sight of him.

Sasuke frowned before he turned his attention back to his target, throwing a shruiken in the process.

"Found you!" exclaimed Naruto loudly as he walked over casually to Sasuke, who didn't give a damn about him. Naruto rubbed his nose impatiently.

"What?" the Uchiha prodigy finally asked obviously annoyed at the kyuubi holder's presence. It irked him much to know that even though at sixteen, the self-proclaimed future Hokage could still act so childish at times.

Naruto smiled mischievously as he knew he was slowly getting on Sasuke's nerves. Perhaps he could push it a few more-

"What? Don't waste my time, dobe." his cold voice said in a blank manner as he stood still, not even sparing Naruto a glance. However, Naruto, who was much used to this attention, wasn't even fazed a little. He continued to smile mischievously.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes, reminding himself that Uchihas never roll their eyes. Deciding that whatever Naruto was about to say was unimportant, he turned his back on him and began walking away, determined to find another secluded spot.

"Whatever." The Prodigy said coldly as he walked away from Naruto. The fox-boy smirked as he knew he was annoying Sasuke before placing his hands behind his head as he stared up at the sky. He noted that it was going to rain soon, judging by the dark clouds above him.

"I just wanted to ask if you knew where Sakura-chan was, bastard." He asked casually and Sasuke stopped in his tracks. He turned slightly to give Naruto a look.

"What makes you think I know?" he asked flatly. Naruto then tapped his feet, and Sasuke gave him an annoyed look. It was irritating that the times when Naruto looked and sounded more intelligent than him were increasing rapidly.

"Well...I happened to 'overhear' your conversation yesterday." Naruto said as he smirked towards the Uchiha, who was once again masked in his cold demeanor. The prodigy didn't reply, which Naruto took as a sign to continue.

"She loves you so much, that even though you do nothing, she still continues loving you. The talk you had yesterday, can't you see she was hurt?" asked Naruto. Sasuke remained impassive. This angered Naruto.

"Bastard, I can't believe you would actually skip a 'promised' date with Sakura-chan." Naruto said, his voice rising due to the topic. He never liked his 'sister' being hurt, especially by Sasuke.

Sasuke scoffed as he inserted his hands in his pocket, which was also known as the "Uchiha Pose".

"I didn't skip it. I forgot about it." He said flatly. Steam came out of Naruto's ears. He wasn't taking this seriously. He knew she was hurt yet again.

Sasuke smirked inwardly as Naruto resisted the urge to punch him. Again, he was winning this battle. It was almost too easy.

"You! Don't you even care? I mean, you're in a relationship with her! You're a couple! Yet, you make it look as if she's just a pet to follow you around!" Naruto said angrily as he raised a fist in front of him, trying to emphasize his point.

Sasuke turned away from Naruto before he continued to walk. Naruto just stood there, rooted in his spot.

Before he was completely out of earshot, Naruto heard it. A word that hit a nerve. A word that could mean so much. A word that could tear her apart.

"So?" Sasuke said in his usual voice. He then disappeared from Naruto's sight. Naruto frowned at the dust wherein Uchiha Sasuke stood a few seconds ago.

"Damn bastard...He doesn't even care."

* * *

_"You expect me to act like those love-sick fools?" he asked coldly, staring at Sakura's back. All he wanted was to quietly wait for their two other teammates._

_He heard her voice. It was different from the usual. _

_"No. But just by watching them...It makes me think that you'd never love me back." She said softly as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening it again, turning around to face Sasuke._

_Nothing changed in his face. He was still as emotionless as ever, and Sakura looked down at the thought. This was getting them nowhere._

_"You know my purpose in life. You know I can't love you." He said, staring at Sakura with a bored expression on his face. Sakura frowned slightly at the ground as she tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. She didn't speak. _

_"This. This connection, it's only meant for the revival of my clan. To ensure the revival of my clan. You agreed, you accepted. Don't complain." He muttered. Sakura looked up slowly, a bitter smile gracing her beautiful features._

_"Yes...I did agree-_

* * *

She lifted her head off the table as she turned her head to glance at the wall clock. She chuckled merrily before she slumped down in her chair again.

"Wow, I can't believe I've been sitting here for almost four hours." She said to herself before chuckling yet again. She was slowly losing her control over herself. It was ironic, really, how love drives people crazy.

The shop door opened with a creaking sound, and Sakura spared a glance at the door, hoping with all her might, wishing with all of her well being, that it would be him. But as soon as she saw the bowl-shaped haircut of a certain taijutsu master entered the shop, she knew. He would not come.

Sakura sighed as she watched Rock Lee enter the shop, closely followed by his two other team mates, Tenten and Hyuuga Neji. She smiled to herself, silently thanking the heavens above that Lee entered with his team mates, not his lover or something along those lines. She was sure that if she saw another couple enter the shop, she would seriously snap and switch to Inner Sakura mode.

Deciding that she had waited long enough, she stood up from her table, left a bill on the table then walked towards the door.

Lee, however, managed to get a glimpse of Sakura. His eyes lit up in delight as he waved a hand over to her.

"Sakura-san! Having a nice, youthful afternoon?" asked Lee happily as he bounded over to the pink-haired kunoichi, who was a few meters from the door. Tenten followed Lee closely, as Neji chose to just settle down rather than having a small chat with the kunoichi.

Sakura turned around and waved at Lee and Tenten. She gave both of them a smile, her Inner Sakura rampaging inside. She only remembered at that time that Lee and Tenten were actually going out. Luckily, she had managed to lock Inner Sakura in the corner of her mind.

"Hey Lee-san, Tenten-chan!" she greeted happily. Tenten smiled at her.

"Sakura-chan! Come on, why don't you have coffee with the three of us?" asked Tenten hopefully. Truthfully, the other kunoichis developed a bond ever since they had started the dating phase. So in conclusion, Sakura, Hinata, Tenten and Ino were like sisters.

Sakura waved a hand.

"I would, but I'm giving someone a piece of my mind. I'd have to take a rain-check." said Sakura. Tenten's mouth formed into an 'o' position, as she immediately knew what she was talking about. Sakura had earlier confronted the other three about Sasuke.

Lee gave them both a look, before resuming his "good-guy" pose.

"Let's talk later with Hinata and Ino then. Meeting at the park?" asked Tenten in a hushed voice. Sakura nodded before turning to the door, waving goodbye at both of them.

"Goodbye, Sakura-san! Have a youthful trip to wherever you're going!" said Lee and Tenten shook her head with a smile.

Sakura grinned at her before opening the door.

"Good day, Lee-san, Neji-san. See you later Tenten!" she said as she walked out of the shop.

* * *

_-but I'm not complaining." She finished simply. Sasuke gave her an annoyed look, but Sakura still wasn't finished. "I'm simply asking a favor. Couldn't you at least try to love me, or at least pretend?" asked Sakura quietly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. What was it about girls anyway? He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her an almighty look. Sakura didn't even flinch._

_"Look, you're with me. Isn't that what you have always wanted? What more do you want? You're too annoying." He said. Sakura chuckled at herself. Of course, annoying. She was always annoying._

_"Yes. Yes, I've always wanted to be with you. Just being with you was enough. I love you, yes...I still do. But-but something's missing." She said sadly. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was just not his field. He never liked talking about relationships. It just gets too sappy._

_Wanting to end this, he sighed as he ran his hand through his hair._

_"Look, let's just get this over with. Meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow at twelve. Whatever." He said blankly. Suddenly, Sakura's eyes lit up._

_"Re-really?" she asked, trying to decide whether this was a dream or not. _

_"Yeah, whatever. Just stop talking. It's getting annoying."_

* * *

He sighed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He turned around to stare at the tree that had met its end. Apparently, Sasuke's chidori found out that it needed to destroy something at the moment, and the tree was the nearest thing to him.

He then sat down with his legs crossed, leaning against the tree. He would probably have a minute or two of rest, and then he would resume training again.

He closed his onyx eyes as he breathed deeply. Suddenly, he found himself thinking of a certain pink-haired kunoichi. He frowned. He reassured himself that it wasn't his fault that he missed their "date". He simply forgot.

Besides, he didn't have time for those things. She was the one who insisted they needed to go out once in a while. It was her fault.

"She's just too stubborn. It's her fault she's hurt again." He thought to himself as he opened his eyes. He suddenly felt a familiar presence near him, and he didn't need to look up to find out who it was.

"Sasuke-kun." Her voice floated through the air and Sasuke frowned. She found him, that was unlucky. He wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone. He needed to train, and yet here she was, standing a few meters away from him.

"What?" he asked coldly. He knew what was coming. It was another one of those "talks" that just got too touchy.

A smile found its way on Sakura's face as she replied.

"You know what's funny? That someone told me to meet him at the coffee shop today at about twelve. Yes, you know, promised and all...Then suddenly, guess what? He didn't show up!" she said with a smile as she laughed merrily, her green eyes full of mirth.

Sasuke turned his head towards her to stare at her blankly.

"And you know what's funnier? It's the fact that I actually waited for four hours, for someone who didn't come!" she said even more happily than before. Sasuke took this as a sign to defend himself.

"I forgot." He said simply. Sakura's smile vanished immediately as groaned.

"Yes, you forgot. That's it?" she asked, obviously irritated at the way he was acting. She knew of course, that he didn't care. That's probably why it annoyed her more.

"Hn." He said flatly. He stood up and decided that it was time to continue his training. He might be able to avoid her then.

"Sasuke-kun. You said you were gonna make an effort." She said angrily. Sasuke gave her a sideward glance.

"I did. But I forgot."

"Don't give me that! I know that you don't forget about things, Sasuke! You only do when they are unimportant things." She said hastily. What was the point of his coldness anyway? Couldn't he even try?

The Uchiha prodigy ran a hand through his hair.

"Who said that this date was of any importance?" he asked coldly. That hit a nerve. The color drained from Sakura's face as she gave him a look. She needed to ask him the question that's been bothering her for a long time.

"Wha-what about me? You forgot about the date, but what about me?" she asked quietly, slowly dreading the fact that she had even asked. She knew him too well, and she knew what was going to come out of his mouth.

"Who said you were of any importance?"

* * *

_"Oh, thank you so much, Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed happily. Sasuke turned away from her._

_"I think you're forgetting an important fact. As soon as I finish killing him, I just need you for the revival of my clan, nothing more." He said. Sakura smiled sadly as she breathed in the morning air._

_"Yes...I know." She said sadly. _

_A little further away from the two, he sat on the tree branch, listening to their conversation. He ran a hand through his blonde hair as his blue eyes stared sadly at his pink-haired team mate._

* * *


	2. The Second Chance

**Author's Notes:**

Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate your time to type down your comments and I really thank you all so much! So anyway, here's chapter 2. I think I'll be posting chapters up every week or every two weeks, or maybe if I actually get out of my "I'm-soopah-lazy-face", I'll update sooner than that. Okay!

Oh, and chapter one was more of a prologue. Yeah...

* * *

**IMPORTANT:**

**In this story, they had finally managed to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke from sound. They're all around sixteen or seventeen in age, so there. There are also some sub-pairings such as ShikaIno, NaruHina and LeeTen. So, I hope you don't mind.**

* * *

**Chapter title:**

The Second Chance

**Chapter summary:**

Sakura and her friends talk about her problem, as they try to convince her that maybe-just maybe...he wasn't the right guy for her. But the news of Sakura giving Sasuke a second chance made it harder for the girls to knock some sense into Sakura.

* * *

**Story title: **

In The Midst Of It All

**Story summary:**

In the midst of her grief, she finds herself irresistibly falling for the least expected person. Problem? She's already in a relationship with Uchiha Sasuke. SasuSakuNeji

* * *

Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto, or any character here. Masashi Kishimoto does.

* * *

"Oh...Sakura, why do you hurt yourself like this?" asked Yamanaka Ino as she sat down next to Sakura who leaned her back against a tree. Ino placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked at her best friend sympathetically.

Through the years, the two have finally managed to repair their friendship when Ino finally found someone to truly love.

Sakura hugged her knees closer to her chest as she buried her face in her hands. Tenten and Hinata looked at each other before kneeling in front of Sakura, to show support for their friend.

The four were at the park, conversing casually. By this, it actually meant talking about Sakura's relationship problems with Sasuke. It didn't actually mean that the girls didn't like Sasuke for Sakura; they were actually thrilled two years ago when they found out that the two were going out.

They were just looking out for her well being.

"Look Sakura, this may be a bit heartless to say but...why don't you just let him go? You deserve so much more than him." said Tenten. Sakura groaned as she shook her head rapidly.

"I can't. I promised him years ago that I would always stay by his side. I just can't break that. Besides, I lov-

Ino's laughter distracted Sakura and the three of them turned to look at the blonde-haired beauty. Ino, in turn, stared at the three of them gleefully.

"Love him? Oh, Sakura...Are you sure you really love him?"

"Of course I am! I've loved him since I was twelve, Ino." she replied hastily, turning away from Ino instantly. It might be because of the fact that she didn't like being questioned about her love for the Uchiha prodigy, or it might be because she didn't want the three of them to see the emotion that was reflecting in her eyes. It was confusion.

Sakura knew then and there that she wasn't entirely sure about her feelings for Sasuke, which irritated her all the more.

The three looked at her back, and it was then that Hinata asked the question that would surely confuse her more and might actually bring her back to her senses.

"Or...do you just feel obligated to love him?" Hinata asked quietly as she fiddled with her thumbs, an old habit that she still hasn't grown out of. Sakura's head snapped up at this.

She turned around to face all of them again, a miserable look clearly shown in her beautiful face. Ino, Hinata and Tenten gave each other looks, trying to hide their smiles. They knew it now, they might be getting somewhere.

"Honestly...I really don't know." The pink-haired girl said sadly. The four were silent for a few seconds, taking in the cool air that blew past them, smelling the aroma of the trees in the park. It was a very relaxing atmosphere.

"Anyway...What did you do after he told you that you were-you were- um-

Tenten didn't want to finish to sentence. But she just couldn't find the right words to substitute it. Sakura smiled inwardly.

"-of no importance?" Sakura finished for Tenten, a small smile on her face. Tenten started to look uneasy as she glanced towards Ino, who was biting her lip, and Hinata, who was fiddling with her fingers.

"Don't worry guys. It's all right to talk about it." she said as she looked down for a while before looking up again. "But, do you really want to know what I did?" she continued, and the other three looked at her quizzically.

Sakura bit her lip for a second, before turning to them again.

"I sort of gave him another chance."

* * *

_Sakura started laughing to herself and Sasuke's onyx eyes stared at her, annoyed. He didn't like laughing when it certainly wasn't time to laugh._

_"Oh Sasuke...Of course..."_

_He raised an eyebrow. He also didn't like it when she talked with no sense._

_"What?"_

_"It was stu-no, wait...so stupid of me to even ask." she said her smile going up tenfold. Sasuke glared at her. What was so funny? There wasn't even anything funny. He didn't like laughter, it was annoying._

_"If I were of any importance to you, ha! Seriously, I get dumber with each minute that passes me by!" she said loudly. __Sasuke glared at her yet again. When would she leave? He needed to train now._

_"I should've known what the answer would be. I shouldn't have asked it." she said, her laughter slowly dying down, and Sasuke felt relieved. He wouldn't care if she left right then and there. Truthfully, he would have been contented-_

_"I should not have asked it...Then I would have spared myself from all the pain I'm feeling right now."_

_-and more truthfully, Sasuke didn't feel the need to be guilty._

* * *

"-and then for lunch, Hinata and I had chicken ramen!" the fox-boy finished as he smiled dreamily, reminiscing his wonderful time with his girlfriend just a few hours ago.

The coffee-haired boy next to him raised an eyebrow. He respected Naruto all right, but there were times when he gets too unbearable. But luckily, even though quite unbelievable, the Hyuuga prodigy had finally managed to get used to the presence of the self-proclaimed future Hokage.

"For dinner, I was hoping to ask her out for miso ramen. It's not actually our daily routine, but ramen tastes better when I'm eating it with my Hinata-chan!" said Naruto happily. Neji, deciding to ignore him, looked forward, estimating their time of arrival at the Hyuuga Manor.

"...about five more minutes." He said to himself as he spared a glance at the love struck shinobi next to him. He smirked to himself as he noted that behind Naruto's smile, there was something else.

"What's your problem?" asked Neji flatly. Naruto, caught off-guard with his question, turned his head to look at the genius beside him. He rubbed the back of his head as they continued to walk.

"What? Nothing! Nothing! I'm not worried about her!" exclaimed Naruto as he tried to laugh it off. Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

This mind-reading crap was useless for Naruto. He didn't need to observe him carefully, you could possibly read him like an open book, and he gave off clues too easily.

"I didn't say anything about you being worried about her." said Neji calmly. Naruto looked confused for a while.

"Wha-? But you- she-he- damn it!"

Neji looked forward yet again. They would possibly reach the manor in three minutes. He could already see its huge structure not far away.

"Fine...I'm just worried about Sakura-chan." said Naruto sadly as he recalled what had happened yesterday and the wait she had to experience a while ago. He never liked her being unhappy. She just really didn't deserve all the pain that bastard was bringing her.

Neji raised an eyebrow as he spared another glance at Naruto.

"Uchiha's girl?" he asked blankly. He had immediately thought that Naruto was upset about Hinata or something. Naruto nodded sadly before he sighed as he rubbed his temples, staring at the ground below him.

"She's just sacrificing so much for someone who doesn't even freaking care."

* * *

_"It's not my fault you asked that question. I was only being honest." Sasuke said coldly as he took a kunai from his pouch and examined its sharpness. Perhaps he would ask Kakashi later to spar with him using only kunais and taijutsu._

_Sakura stared at the ground before she breathed in deeply, feeling a little bit more relaxed. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear again before she looked up._

_Sasuke ignored her. He frowned as he stared at the kunai in his hand. It was too blunt. He needed sharp kunais._

_Sakura watched him with her emerald eyes. Amazingly, she didn't even shed a single tear. She was used to it-_

_"Should I give up now?" she inwardly asked herself as she breathed in again._

_-and she was fed up with it. Sure, she was used to being treated like this, but that didn't mean she liked it. _

_Sasuke still didn't even glance at her. Would it be rude to just walk away from her? Wait...Would he even care if she found him rude? No. Not really. He wouldn't._

_Sakura rubbed her temples as she stared at Sasuke's back. _

_"Should I let him go, now?" she asked herself yet again._

* * *

"Hey Hinata, thanks for having me over again." muttered Sakura as she ate another spoonful of strawberry ice cream. Hinata smiled at her gently before sitting down next to her, a cup of ice cream in her hand.

"No problem, Sakura. I know you always cheer up as long as ice cream is involved." Hinata said and both of them giggled.

After their talk in the park, Hinata had invited Sakura over to cheer her up. Apparently, the news that Sakura gave Sasuke another chance to redeem himself angered Ino and Tenten so much. Not really angered, they were just shocked that Sakura had managed to give the bastard another chance.

_"What? Sakura, he doesn't deserve you!" _She remembered Ino saying this. At the time, she was upset that her friends couldn't support her, but now that she thought about it, they were just trying to protect her.

Sakura groaned as she stopped eating her ice cream for a while, leaning back on the Hyuuga's kitchen chair. Hinata bit her lip. She hated seeing her like this.

"Hinata...Was I wrong to give him another chance?" she asked, her green eyes full of sadness and misery. Hinata gently placed her cup on top of the counter before returning to Sakura.

"Sakura...What does your heart tell you?" she asked. Sakura sighed before looking up.

"I really don't know."

Hinata patted Sakura's back as she smiled at her, trying to give her more reassurance. "Sakura, what was the reason you agreed to be with him?" she asked.

Sakura turned away from her before replying.

"Because I love him." She said simply. Hinata was just about to reply, when she was cut off by Sakura, who looked very distant just at that moment, as if she was trying to remember something from the past.

"Hinata...I agreed to be with him, to help him with the revival of his clan. I started it already, and I'm going to end what I started. There were times when I thought of just letting him go, but that was just it. I thought of it, but I just can't do it-

Sakura wanted to let her tears fall, but it didn't. She had cried over him too many times years ago, and she didn't want to start again.

-I-I just can't let him go...I can't, because I promised him...I promised him a long time ago that I'd always be by his side." finished Sakura sadly. She glanced at her half-empty cup of strawberry ice cream, not wanting to look at Hinata in the eye.

Hinata sighed deeply, before turning to the pink-haired kunoichi beside her.

"Well...When are you meeting him again?"

"The day after tomorrow at Ichiraku. He said to meet him there at twelve."

* * *

_Suddenly, she bit her lip as she slapped herself inwardly. It was foolish, what she was thinking. She knew she could never let him go. No matter how many times she thought of it, she would never do it. She thought of it, but she just couldn't do it._

_Sasuke, noticing her lack of words, glanced at her from the corner of his eye. When would she leave?_

_"Aren't you leaving?" he found himself asking her. If she didn't plan on leaving anytime soon, then that would mean he'd just have to find another training spot._

_There was silence for a few seconds, until she broke the solemn moment._

_"No..-_

_"No?" Sasuke thought with a smirk on his face. Typical her, she's just too persistent. She still hasn't grown up, has she?_

_-no...I won't leave you. I promised you I would always stay by your side. I'm not about to break that promise." He heard her say. He didn't have any reactions. He knew her. She would never leave him. _

_She knew too. She would never have the courage to give up on him. Or possibly, she would never have the courage to give up on him...yet. _

* * *

"Na-naruto-kun! What are you doing here?" Hinata asked shyly with a shocked expression on her face. Who wouldn't? Just imagine your boyfriend unexpectedly entering your kitchen with a huge smile, and then would suddenly engulf you in a hug.

"Hinata-chan! I missed you so much!" exclaimed Naruto happily as he hugged her. The color started to drain from Hinata's face due to the lack of oxygen.

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the sight before her. It was actually sweet, really. But if she didn't stop Naruto, she would probably lose one of her best friends.

But before the words could come out of her mouth, someone entered the kitchen with such a powerful aura that could make anyone scared.

"Naruto...Stop it, you're crushing her." Neji said as he entered the kitchen, his hands inside his pocket. Sakura and Naruto turned to look at him, before Naruto came to his senses and finally noticed that he was slowly crushing his Hinata-chan.

He let go immediately, a shocked expression on his face. Sakura had to admit that the sight was pretty pathetic, yet very touching at the same time.

"I am so sorry, Hinata-chan!" he cried out and Hinata nodded rapidly, smiling gently at Naruto. "Do-don't worry, I'm fine Naruto-kun."

Neji stared blankly at the couple, before walking away from the entrance of the kitchen and towards the refrigerator. Sakura turned to look at him, not wanting to distract the couple.

"Hey Neji-san..." she said. Neji gave her a sideward glance in order to show acknowledgement, before turning away from the refrigerator with a bottle of water. Neji then chose to settle down on a chair a few seats away from Sakura, while he drank his water.

"Anyway, the reason I came here was to ask you out for ramen tonight. I know it's not our routine, but please come Hinata-chan!" exclaimed Naruto and Sakura turned her attention back to the couple.

Hinata smiled gently as she stood up and shyly held Naruto's hand.

"Of course, Naruto-kun...Let me just go grab a jacket." said Hinata and Naruto hugged her happily, before they started to walk away from the kitchen table.

"Take care Sakura-chan...Oh, and um...Neji-san, please tell father I went out." said Hinata gently as she turned around to face both of them. Naruto halted and turned around too, his arm around Hinata's shoulder.

Sakura smiled at the two of them, waving her hand. Neji nodded as he stopped drinking from the bottle, his silver eyes staring directly at Naruto, as if saying "Take-care-of-her-or-my-uncle-will-kill-me".

"Have fun, Hinata!" called Sakura as Hinata and Naruto walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

_"Fine...Meet me at the Ichiraku on Wednesday, at twelve." Sasuke said suddenly. Sakura's green eyes widened at the sudden invitation from Sasuke._

_She started to doubt him, wondering if he would ever come._

_"What? Are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked her, an irritated expression on his face. He just wanted to train again. This was possibly the fastest way._

_...it was then that Sakura decided that everyone deserved a second chance. She looked up and smiled at Sasuke's back._

_"Just-just please...Show up this time."_

_"Hn."_

_Sakura breathed in deeply, before she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. _

_"I will come...Thank you, Sasuke-kun."_

_There was silence for a few seconds, before he surprisingly broke it._

_"I think you're forgetting an important fact. As soon as I finish killing him, I just need you for the revival of my clan, nothing more." He said coldly. _

_"Yes...I know." She said, a sad smile gracing her features._

_He walked away._

* * *

Yeah! Finally, next chapter starts off when Sakura and Neji talk. I've been waiting so much for it. Well, it's not exactly that NejiSaku-ish yet, since it's just like getting to know each other, but you catch my drift. Hehe.


End file.
